By Russell Hotten
Business reporter.
Alex Clarke is the image source.
The image caption is.
Alex found a flight from South Africa, but says UK hotels are full.
The latest Covid restrictions are causing travel turmoil for people trying to return to the UK.
The passengers were upset with the lack of information on returning from countries on the "red list".
One told the programme that he had found a return flight from South Africa but was unable to get a hotel in the UK.
Alex said that he might have to re-arrange his return because of a lack of hotel space.
He said he should have returned to the UK this morning. I was able to book another flight for Friday. That has been canceled.
I found return flights through Amsterdam and Dubai. I have a return booked for Thursday, but the website that books hotels says everything is not booked.
Omicron cases were first recorded in South Africa last week. It could be more infectious and less responsive to vaccines. Covid rules are being strengthened again.
The UK's travel red list includes 10 southern African countries, including South Africa, where Mr Clarke is stuck. The UK or Irish nations are the only places where people can enter the UK.
They'll have to pay for a 10 day stay in a government approved hotel.
When he thought he had secured an alternative flight, Mr. Clarke had traveled from Cape Town to South Africa. He thinks the extra costs will be about $4,000.
He said that there had been no communication from British Airways or the UK government on getting back to the UK.
The person in the phone was unaware that flights to the UK had been suspended or canceled when they received the email from BA.
He was directed to BA's website when he phoned again later.
Mike Haswell, a traveller from Wales, told the BBC on Sunday how he had been struggling to return from his job in Africa.
The ground staff at the airport in Ethiopia refused to let the UK nationals onto the flight.
Mr Haswell said he and about 30 other UK passengers were stuck at the airport for 18 hours and still didn't know when a flight would be available.
The image is from the same source.
If your flight is canceled, you can get a full refund in cash or as a voucher, but you have the option to receive it in cash.
Some people have waited longer than seven days, but they should get their money back.
Within 14 days, a package holiday should be returned in full.
Virgin Atlantic said it will operate its first flight from London to South Africa on Wednesday. The airline did not fly from South Africa for a week.
All passengers will arrive at the airport's Terminal 4 which is being restored as an arrival facility for red list countries. They will go to a managed hotel facility.
The airport is reopening Terminal 4 as a red list arrivals facility on December 1. There will be no direct flights arriving from the affected areas.
Anyone entering the UK will need to take a test within 48 hours of arrival and will need to self-isolate until they have a negative result.
Willie Walsh, the head of the IATA airline trade body and formerly the boss of IAG, the group that owns Aer Lingus, said that the latest developments exposed the lack of a sensible testing regime and risk-based approach.
The image is from the news.
He said that he was disappointed to see governments reacting to the latest development.
"These measures have been completely ineffective in the past but impose huge hardship on people who are trying to connect with families and friends, and clearly massive financial damage to the tourism and airline industry."
The failure of similar restrictions to prevent a second coronaviruses wave in the UK after being implemented in May last year shows that they do not have any long-term benefits.
"I think sensible testing regimes which have been proven to be effective could be introduced which would enable people to continue travelling in a safe environment," he said.
The chief executive of Airlines UK said that the government could do more.
"The situation is developing rapidly, and hopefully as more data emerges emergency border restrictions can be reversed quickly - and applied only where they will make a material difference," he said.
We urge the ministers to make the mandatory tests free of charge for impacted passengers, many of whom are now in the invidious position of having less than 48 hours to arrange extra testing while overseas.
The changes were targeted measures to provide confidence and protection and will be reviewed in three weeks.
